NFL Draft: QB David Fales selected in sixth round by Chicago Bears

David Fales was selected in the sixth round by the Chicago Bears to compete to backup Jay Cutler. (Staff photo/Nhat V. Meyer)

David Fales broke a 26-year drought when the San Jose State quarterback was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round (No. 183 overall) of the NFL Draft on Saturday.

Fales, a two-year starter for the Spartans, is the first SJSU signal-caller to be drafted since Mike Perez in 1988 and the seventh in school history to be selected.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Salinas and Palma High set every significant passing record during his two seasons with the Spartans. He left the school as the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns and he delivered the two most prolific seasons in school history with his back-to-back 4,000-plus yards passing seasons.

Fales came to SJSU in 2012 after beginning his college career at Nevada as a backup to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He transferred from there after they made a commitment to continuing with their read option offense and became the full-time starter five games into his career at MontereyPeninsulaCollege.

He was recruited to SJSU largely by then-offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. He’s now the quarterbacks coach for the Raiders, who drafted Fresno State’s Derek Carr in the second round on Friday.

Fales will look to become the first San Jose State quarterback since Jeff Garcia to play in the NFL. Garcia, who was a Spartan from 1991-93, went undrafted out of SJSU before carving out an 11-year NFL career that included four Pro Bowl appearances.

Fales finished his career with 8,382 passing yards and 66 touchdowns. His two seasons were nearly identical statistically. In 2012, he passed for 4,193 yards and 33 touchdowns and followed that up with 4,189 yards and 33 scores.